The Other Worlds Austin SciFi Screenwriting Contest returns, with new sponsor, Save the Cat!®

Other Worlds Austin—dedicated to fostering and promoting creativity in Science Fiction at every stage of development—is proud to announce that its annual SciFi Screenwriting Contest is now open and accepting submissions. The contest runs concurrently with the film program, and will award prizes for the top feature, short or teleplay.

This year, we have the privilege to announce a new sponsor: Save the Cat!® Save the Cat!® began as an industry renowned screenwriting book by Blake Snyder, published in 2005, and has since grown into a diverse digital and print screenwriting resource.

“I have been saying for years that the one book every screenwriter needs to read is Save The Cat!®” says Bears Fonté, OWA Founder and Artistic Director. “It’s written more like a hands-on manual than a philosophical discussion of the meaning of story. Every project I ever take on, even five-minutes shorts, I look at in the light of Blake’s principals. I am very proud to have the Other Worlds Austin name attached to Save the Cat!® and I know that our winning and finalist screenwriters will benefit from the amazing prizes STC! has offered."

Each of the category finalists will receive all five books from Save the Cat!® and a copy of Save the Cat!® Story Structure Software 3.0: Structure your screenplay the Save the Cat!® Way. In addition, the winner in the feature category will receive free a 1-hour phone consultation from a Master Cat® about their script (up to 120 pages) and the winners of both the short and teleplay category will receive an hour free consultation to discuss any aspect of their project. All three category winners receive $250 in cash, with the Grand Prize Winner selected from the three winners receiving an additional $250 cash.

April 19th TELEIOS screening to help fund rescue mission to space Kelseios to find original OWA staff member Kelsey

Since Day 1, the Other Worlds Austin Team has been driven to define Science Fiction. Is it just a genre? What happens when it’s fused with Horror or Comedy? Or could it be a lifestyle?

A few months after the inaugural 2014 festival, our team decided to pull together all the profits and send Kelsey Hockmuller into space to discover the true meaning of Science Fiction. At the press conference days before launch, Kelsey handed all the OWA social media passwords and the Social Media Director title over to Mark Martinez in heartfelt ceremony. Her final speech brought tears to everyone’s eyes in attendance. They may have been tears from laughing, but there were tears none the less.

“I want to thank the OWA team for giving me the chance to go to space! I offered to find the meaning of Science Fiction by studying the works of Philip K. Dick and Arthur C. Clarke, but Bears insisted the answer can’t be of this world,” Hockmuller said, "The objective is confusing as I can’t discover something fictional because once I do… it’s no longer fictional. But still, I’m pumped to explore mother f****** space!”

The launch and first six months of the exploration went well, but then silence. We received Kelsey's final tweet just 176 days into the 2635 day trip. Her tweet did not imply any problems on the rise.

“Lots of Science up here. Still have not run into Science Fiction. #IMNSPACE!” Tweeted at 5 PM CST day 176 of the 2635 day trip.

We have not heard from Kelsey or anyone else ont he ship since that fateful tweet. We tracked the ship and it has been orbiting Saturn for the last year and a half.

The great news is the Other Worlds Austin team was able to raise enough money in the first month of 2017 submissions being open to send a rescue mission to save Kelsey and her crew. Since we have no idea what made the ship go dark, we are planning for everything. We have watched all of the ghost ship Science Fiction films and each member of the Other Worlds Austin Team has become experts in handling the different possible scenarios. The plans for each scenario will be released over the coming weeks.

Our rescue mission will launch on Thursday, April 20th. On Wednesday, April 19th, the Other Worlds Austin Team is inviting the press and public to screen Teleios with them at Flix Brewhouse. Tickets will be on sale soon at Flixbrewhouse.com and all the proceeds will go towards Astronaut Ice Cream for the crew. The director of Teleios, Ian Truitner, will be in attendance for a Q&A after the film. He is also helping with the mission as a Special Consultant.

Please keep Kelsey in your thoughts. She is screaming right now and no one can hear her.

by DEBBIE CERDA — Our Other Worlds Austin team is excited for our 3rd Annual Star Wars Day event, which will be held at 4th Tap Brewing Co-operative on Thursday, May 4, 2017. As always, this free event features Star Wars fan films, a fun costume contest, and more.

In addition, the 4th Tap founders and brewers have stepped up to the challenge of hosting this stellar event by offering a taproom only limited release created specifically for our special event!

The beer will be called "The Fist of the Empire," and is a heavy, high ABV Imperial Stout to represent the Dark Side of the Force. 4th Tap will also be renaming their Zephyr served in the taproom to "The Iron Knight" to represent the Light Side of the Force. A third taproom offering will be a "black and tan" with The Fist of the Empire served over The Iron Knight. This special beer will be called "The Voss Mystic," as it represents the blended or balanced aspects of the Force.

"When it comes to literature I've always been a fan of the classics: Vance, Asimov, Heinlein, Dickson, and Harrison. Though my favorite science fiction novel has to be Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card. I still re-read that every few years.

As for other media, ROBOCOP is my favorite science fiction film; it is perhaps one of the greatest films ever made. And I'll challenge anyone who disagrees with me to a fist fight. I've also watched a good number of science fiction anime; I'd have to put PLANETES at the top of that list.

But when it comes to Star Wars there is really only one film that I enjoy time and time again, and that's EWOKS: THE BATTLE FOR ENDOR. Seriously, Wilford Brimley is the perfect grumpy old space wizard - a lazy, mercenary man with a heart of gold. But if we're limited to the main series, I'd go with A NEW HOPE."

4th Tap co-founder Erin Stecker is also a fan of Sci-Fi -- and Horror -- and here's her favorites:

By Bears Fonte — Why do I groan when I hear people talking about it, lavishing it with praise? Because I hold Star Wars to a higher standard than any other series, and because J.J. Abrams and his team didn’t. This new film suffered from lazy, repetitious storytelling, a disregard for the original trilogy, and a whole mess of missed opportunities.

SciFiHybridity

By Michael Thielvoldt — The definition of science fiction, perhaps more than other genres, involves a high degree of subjective reading. The question: “What is SciFi?” begs a multitude of answers. I posit horror and science fiction have been inextricably linked since at least the classic period. Furthermore, I would argue that SciFi has always assumed a hybridized stance.

SciFi Screenwriting Success Stories

By Don Elfant — No matter where you are in your writing career, take solace in these six stories of famous SciFi screenwriters who found their way to the top. Most went on to become directors, producers, and some even moguls.